Seniors have no recourse as eviction fears loom

Residents of Marian Hall, a moderate-income seniors' home in Beaconsfield, feel as if they are stuck in a rut and could wake up one morning to find themselves evicted without proper notice as its current owner, an organization with at the very least former ties to St. Patrick's Basilica in Montreal, plans to sell it to a local developer who has not revealed himself to date.

"Some of you have put a lot of money into your apartments, and as far as I’m concerned, if they make you move, they should reimburse you. They should reimburse you for moving," said one resident, John Whatmore, at a recent tenants' meeting where about 27 out of a total of around 60 attended.

Rent at the hall can range from $300 to $600 a month, a price not easily matched elsewhere in the West Island.

During the meeting, Whatmore attempted to convince many residents to stay put and not feel forced to move out immediately.

"Do not panic. It's not going to happen overnight; they can't come along in a couple of months and say 'leave.' They have no right to do it," he said.

A part of the problem for these seniors is that nobody from Marian Hall's administration council, or the organization that owns the building, has come forward to tell them exactly what is going on.

"Who does this belong to? St. Patrick's Foundation? St. Patrick's Society? Development Corporation? Lindsay Corporation? Nobody knows," Whatmore summarized the situation during the meeting.

The trail is indeed a little blurry. Whatmore said residents make out their monthly rent cheques to an organization called Marian Hall Inc.

According to official Beaconsfield tax papers, the building in question, 575, Elm Avenue, is the property of an organization called Montreal St. Patrick's Orphan Asylum, and Marian Hall Inc.

And property assessment rolls available on the City of Montreal's website for public perusal list the principal owner as Montreal St. Patrick's Orphan Asylum.

That organization is unlisted in telephone books. However, a book from the University of Toronto's collection downloadable online thanks to the former's collaboration with a public archive project indicates the organization, or one with a similar name, was founded in 1852. Called Golden Jubilee of St. Patrick's Orphan Asylum, the book explains there was an orphanage with that name founded in Montreal thanks to the appeal of an Irish Catholic priest—referred to only as Reverend Father P. Dowd—to parishioners at St. Patrick's Church. The latter was renamed St. Patrick's Basilica in 1989.

A telephone call to the basilica by The Chronicle resulted in a firm denial it was involved in any way with Marian Hall or current organizations called Montreal St. Patrick's Orphan Asylum, but yielded contact information for a spokesperson involved with the owners of Marian Hall.

"The basilica has been there for almost 200 years and does not have any links with Marian Hall," said the latter, Lorna Telfer.

"There used to be a link as I understand it, with (the basilica and) St. Patrick's orphanage," she confirmed.

Questioned on whether an organization called Montreal St. Patrick's Orphanage runs Marian Hall now, she was not forthcoming.

"That one gets more complicated. I don't think it exists anymore and I'm not going to comment on that right now," Telfer added.

A May 2005 monthly newsletter of the St. Patrick's Society, a large Irish Canadian community group, says the orphanage is now called St. Patrick's Foundation. "It is the same legal body with a new name," an online article in the Community Newsletter of St. Patrick's Society reads.

Telfer seemed surprised when the orphan asylum was pointed out to her as the principal owner of Marian Hall according to Montreal records. "Oh, that's interesting," she said, adding she is not authorized to comment further for the moment.

As for Marian Hall's administration council, its president William H. Wilson did not add much besides trying to appear re-assuring to residents.

"I think they'll be given more than due notice. For sure, they'll be given due notice," Wilson said.

It is also unclear why the land is for sale now or what will happen to it in the future.

"We're not making best use of what the property can be used for," Wilson said, adding there is too much land for a seniors' home there.

One resident of Marian Hall, Jean-Michel Caron, who has been there for 12 years, told The Chronicle it might be for sale because of new legislation enacted by Quebec in 2007 forcing all seniors' residences to come up to speed in order to gain a certificate and be allowed to continue operating. "The people who own this place will not bow down and accept the conditions of this certificate," said Caron, estimating it would take about $1 million in renovations to get the hall up to standards.

When The Chronicle visited during the tenants' meeting, Caron pointed to painting chipping off the doors of a common room as but one example of the problem. He added the windows of the building are not up to snuff either, letting in cold weather in the winter due to improper insulation.

Wilson denied this as one of the reasons for the sale. "It's incorrect," he said.

A third possible reason exists as well. Up to 1975, Marian Hall was a child protection school for girls. It was shut down after a report submitted to the provincial Ministry of Social Services at the time, which has since folded in with the Health Ministry, noted Marian Hall and several other juvenile social service centres are in bad need of reform. The Beaconsfield residence was noted to have bad budgetary problems. It was also the site of five fires, 19 self-mutilations, and 17 "attacks on staff" between January and April 1975, according to the report.

Deborah Hughes claims to have been in the middle of this abuse as a resident of the hall between 1970 and 1976. She believes the building may have changed its vocation after re-opening in 1978 as a seniors' home, but it never changed hands. She also believes her vocal protests about this past abuse may be a part of what is pushing owners to sell faster. "I think (my accusation) might be a part of it," she said.

Hughes showed up at the tenants' meeting as well, where she warned the seniors she did not expect their experience to be pleasant. "At the time that I was here, it was the same organization that owned it. It was the orphan asylum, and it was St. Patrick's… whatever they're calling themselves," she said.

Hughes said she has been pursuing them for 10 years for answers, to no avail.

"They will not notify you of the sale, they will not tell you where to go, what to do. They will come and shut the doors, overnight," she added.

At Beaconsfield city hall, Mayor Bob Benedetti was sympathetic to the seniors' plight, but there was not much the city could legally do, he said. "As a city we're concerned about it, even though we can't do anything about it."

Benedetti added he was aware of the potential buyer's identity, but could not disclose it. "It's a confidential deal that's going on right now," he said, adding the names cannot be revealed since nothing final has been signed yet.

As for potential future use of the land, he said detailed plans have not been submitted to council or public works yet.

"Basically, it was a drawing on the back of an envelope," he said about one drawing that he has seen depicting a housing project.

One well-known Beaconsfield developer did not confirm or deny being involved with the deal to buy Marian Hall. "Can't make a comment," said Omar Rifai, who oversaw the creation of a luxury seniors' residence called Jardins Beaurepaire located behind Christ Church with business partner and former Beaconsfield councillor Doug Smith in October 2007.

However, Rifai said Smith was not involved in this deal. "We're still partners on one project, but this is a different project," he said.

He did not comment further.

Both Wilson and Telfer said an explanatory statement by Marian Hall's owners may be forthcoming soon.

Chronicle, Raffy Boudjikanian